How to Ship from the US to New Zealand: Complete 2026 Guide

New Zealand is one of the friendliest countries in the world for receiving packages from the United States. The customs process is straightforward, documentation requirements are in English, and the country has a remarkably generous de minimis threshold of NZD 1,000 (roughly 600 US dollars) below which most imports are completely duty-free. For US e-commerce businesses testing international waters, New Zealand is about as low-risk as it gets.

The main challenge with New Zealand is distance. It is literally one of the farthest places you can ship to from the continental US — roughly 8,500 miles from Los Angeles and over 9,000 miles from the East Coast. This distance means longer transit times and higher shipping costs than shipping to Canada or Europe, but the trade-off is a market with high purchasing power, strong demand for American products, and customs procedures that rarely cause problems.

Carrier Options

Express: 3 to 6 Business Days

DHL Express is consistently the fastest and most reliable option for New Zealand, with delivery times of three to five business days to Auckland and Wellington. DHL routes most US-to-New Zealand express packages through their Sydney hub, which gives them a geographical advantage in the Pacific.

FedEx International Priority delivers in four to six business days, and UPS Worldwide Express takes a similar timeline. Both are reliable but slightly slower than DHL for this corridor. USPS Priority Mail Express International takes five to seven business days and costs significantly less — roughly 50 to 65 dollars for a one-pound package versus 65 to 85 dollars for DHL or FedEx.

Standard: 10 to 20 Business Days

USPS Priority Mail International is the workhorse option at 38 to 55 dollars for a one-pound package, with delivery in 10 to 20 business days. The wide delivery window reflects the reality of trans-Pacific shipping — some packages arrive in ten days and others take the full twenty, depending on customs processing speed and New Zealand Post's domestic delivery schedule.

FedEx International Economy offers a tighter delivery window of 7 to 12 business days at slightly higher prices, with better tracking throughout the journey.

Economy: 15 to 35 Business Days

USPS First-Class Package International Service is the budget option for lightweight items, starting at 13 to 18 dollars for packages under four pounds. Transit times of 15 to 35 business days mean your customer could wait up to seven weeks in worst-case scenarios, which is only acceptable for very low-value items where the customer understood the timeline upfront.

Customs: Easier Than Almost Anywhere

New Zealand's customs system is administered by the New Zealand Customs Service, and it is refreshingly simple. The de minimis threshold of NZD 1,000 means that most consumer shipments from the US arrive duty-free and GST-free. This is vastly more generous than the EU (EUR 150), the UK (GBP 135), or Australia (AUD 1,000).

For shipments above NZD 1,000, standard customs duties apply at rates that vary by product category. General consumer goods face duties of 0 to 10 percent, and New Zealand's 15 percent Goods and Services Tax applies on top of the duty. The recipient is responsible for paying these charges, which carriers collect on delivery for express shipments or New Zealand Post collects for postal parcels.

Documentation is simple: a commercial invoice or customs declaration in English with the item description, quantity, value, and country of origin. HS tariff codes are helpful but not strictly required for personal shipments under the de minimis threshold. For commercial shipments above the threshold, including the correct HS code speeds up clearance.

New Zealand takes biosecurity very seriously — probably more seriously than any other country in the world. The Ministry for Primary Industries inspects incoming packages for biosecurity risks, and items that could carry pests, diseases, or invasive species are either rejected or held for treatment. This means no plant materials, seeds, soil, untreated wood products, or fresh food without proper phytosanitary documentation. Dried foods, packaged goods, and processed products are generally fine, but anything that could conceivably harbor a biological threat will get flagged.

Honey imports to New Zealand are completely prohibited to protect the country's bee population from foreign pathogens. If you sell honey, New Zealand is not your market.

Packaging for the Long Journey

The distance to New Zealand means your package goes through more handling points than a typical domestic or European shipment. Expect at least four to six load/unload cycles between origin and destination, and plan your packaging accordingly.

Use sturdy corrugated boxes — double-wall for fragile items — and ensure at least two inches of cushioning on all sides. The trans-Pacific journey often involves temperature extremes in aircraft cargo holds, so temperature-sensitive products need insulated packaging or should only be shipped during moderate weather months.

Because New Zealand is in the Southern Hemisphere, their seasons are reversed. December through February is summer in New Zealand, and warehouse and delivery vehicle temperatures can be warm. If your product is sensitive to heat, ship during their autumn or winter (March through August).

Label your packages clearly with the full New Zealand address. New Zealand addresses are straightforward — street address, suburb, city, and four-digit postal code. English is the primary language, so no translation is needed on labels or documentation.

Practical Tips

If you ship to New Zealand regularly, the biggest cost savings come from using USPS Priority Mail International rather than express services for non-urgent shipments. The transit time is longer, but at roughly half the price of express carriers, the savings add up quickly.

For lightweight items under four pounds, USPS First-Class International is hard to beat on price, but set clear delivery time expectations with your customer. A New Zealand customer who expects their package in a week and waits four weeks will leave a negative review regardless of how good your product is.

Platforms like atoship let you compare real-time rates across carriers for New Zealand shipments and generate compliant customs documentation automatically. For a destination where shipping costs can be high, even small rate differences between carriers add up over multiple shipments.